🐠 Argus Grouper (Cephalopholis argus)
Hundreds of Iridescent Blue Spots on a Dark Body • Named for the Hundred-Eyed Giant of Greek Myth • A Hardy, Characterful Predator
 
📋 The Argus Grouper, also known as the Peacock Grouper, Peacock Hind, or Blue-Spotted Grouper, has a dark brown-to-black body covered in hundreds of small, iridescent blue spots, and larger fish sometimes develop pale vertical bars across the rear half. Its name comes from Argus, the hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology, a nod to that densely spotted pattern.
It ranges across a vast area of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands. It rests on coral heads and rocky perches, retreating into cover when startled, and it's an ambush predator of small fish and crustaceans. It's hardy and adapts well to aquarium life given enough space, and like many groupers it develops real personality over time.
It reaches up to 60cm, so plan on at least 680L with strong filtration, since it's a hearty eater with a hefty bioload. It's not reef safe: it will eat any fish or crustacean small enough to swallow, so keep it as the only grouper, alongside robust, similarly assertive fish such as lionfish or moray eels.
 
💡 Highlights
🔵 Hundreds of Iridescent Blue Spots: A mythologically-named, striking pattern
💪 Hardy: Adapts well to aquarium life given enough space
🧠 Real Personality: Learns its keeper over time
📏 Up to 60cm: A showpiece for large tanks
🪸 Not Reef Safe: Will eat any tankmate small enough to swallow